The present invention relates to mixtures, which are suitable as a salt substitute and for reducing the sodium chloride content in foods, and to their use.
A harmful effect on health has been ascribed to sodium chloride for many years. In particular, the blood pressure is said to increase by the uptake of sodium chloride. Admittedly, an elevated blood pressure also represents an increased risk, as for instance, for heart and circulation diseases. Although the effect of sodium chloride on blood pressure is not undisputed, attempts have been made for some time to reduce the sodium chloride content especially of ready-to-serve meals and other industrially manufactured foods. In so doing, the taste should not suffer and, in some foods, such as white bread, the functional effects of the sodium chloride cannot be omitted.
Aside from a replacement of the sodium chloride by classical spices, which do without retaining the salty taste, especially salt substitute mixtures are in use, for which sodium is replaced by potassium, calcium and/or magnesium. The taste has to be adjusted to that of sodium chloride by additives, such as organic acids for example adipic, citric or glutamic acid. Reference is made to the following publications by way of example.
A mixture of NaCl and KCl in the ratio of 80:20 to 20:80 is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,514,296 as a salt substitute.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,068,006 proposes mixtures of NaCl, KCl and citric acid. According to EP 417 062, a mixture of NaCl, KCl and monomagnesium citrate-5-hydrate is used. According to U.S. Pat. No. 5,562,942, 100 parts of a mixture of 30 to 75% NaCl and 25 to 70% KCl with 5 to 60 parts of citrate is to be used.
JP 10056997 proposes the use of alkali metal gluconates as a salt substitute; the JP 10057003 and the WO 96/17521 describe mixtures of alkali metal gluconates and table salt.
Mixtures of NaCl, KCl and magnesium salts are proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,473,595 and GB 2396793.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,743,461 is referred to as an example of the use of spices and proposes a mixture of calcium chloride with a potassium salt, citric acid, rice flour, ginger oil and aromas.
Generally, the taste of salt substitute mixtures without sodium chloride is unsatisfactory, so that most mixtures contain at least a portion of common salt. However, even such mixtures produce either a distinct off flavor or an inadequate salt taste, especially when the amount is intended not to differ clearly from the comparable amount of common salt.
Accordingly, the problem of finding compositions, which taste sufficiently salty, do not have an off flavor and, at the same time, permit the NaCl content to be reduced, continues to exist.
Surprisingly, it has now been found that, with mixtures of NaCl, KCl and sodium gluconate, for which the ratio by weight of KCl to gluconate ranges from 1.5:1 to 1:1.5 and which contain at least 45% NaCl, the above problem is solved.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,242,040 indeed already proposes compositions of 40 to 400 parts of sodium gluconate with 100 parts of a mixture of 40 to 60% NaCl and 60 to 40% KCl. However, most of these compositions when used in the same amount as common salt, are either not sufficiently salty or have a distinct off flavor.
A balanced proportion between a salty taste and an absence of off flavor can be attained only with the ratio of gluconate to KCl limited according to the invention. The proportion of NaCl ensures that the amounts, added to a food, or, when used as such, the amount used corresponds approximately to that of common salt.